Cable take-up



W. C. F. ZIMMERMAN, JR CABLE TAKE-UP.

APPLlCATlON FILED SEPT. 14. 1918 1,382,046. PatentedJflne 21, 1921.

vlllhww my Z W I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM G. r. ZIMMERMAN, 33., OF DAVENPORT, IoWA.

CABLE TAKE-UP,

To all w/wmit may concern.

Be it known that I, WILLIAM C. F. ZIM- MERMAN, Jr., a citizen of the United States, residing at Davenport, in the countyv of Scott and State of Iowa, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Cable Take-Ups; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in pulling devices, and more particularly to such as are adapted to facilitatehitching or' i will in part hereinafter become'apparent and in part be stated, the invention comprises certain novel constructions, combinations and arrangements of parts as subsequently specified and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings,f Figure 1 is an edge view of a cable takeup embodying the features of the present in vention.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof, the

cable being indicated in dotted lines and portions of the loop being broken away.

Fig. 3 is a transverse section taken on the plane indicated by line 33 of Fig. 2, and looking in the direction indicated by the arrow.

Fig. 4 is an inverted plan view. Referring to the drawing by numerals, 1

indicates a plate having a series of longi tudinal flanges, or ribs 2, 2. The plate 1 is turned up at one end to form a book 3 and the ribs are continued about the book as indicated at 2, 2'. The bight of the hook 3 is rounded out to correspond substantially with the curve of the cable to be engaged and the edges are rounded off at the places of entrance and exit of the cable to and from the hook for preventing the possibility of injury ward the hook 3.

to the cable, such as might result if corners were presented to the cable.

Approximately midway in the length of the plate 1, an upstanding flange-like ridge or web. t is provided which, as clearly seen 1n Fig.2, 1s arcuate in form and is stiffened or stabilized by fillets-5, 5, formed integral w th the plate .1 and the ridge 4, the said fillets extending in a general direction to- The opposite face of ridge 4 from that engaged by fillets 5 is grooyed,-as lndicated at 6, said groove extending longitudinally of the ridge 4 and being arcuate in cross section to correspond generally to 1 the 1 shape of the cable to be engagec. I

Spaced from the ridge 4 is a post 7 which upstands from the plate 1 and is preferably formed integral therewith, said post, as clearly indicated in Fig. 1, being slightly tapered outwardly. An eccentric Sis pivotally mounted on the post 7 and is preferably provided with annular bosses 9, 9, for lncreasmg the width ofv the bearing. on the post, the bore through the eccentric and I said bosses being tapered to correspond tothe taperv of the, post 7 so as to snugly fit said post and to give the advantage of the extra strength of the parts incident to such tapered formation. vA pin 10 is preferably removably inserted through the outer end' portion of-the post 7 for retaining the cocentric 8 against accidental dislocaton- The edge of the eccentric 8 presented toward the ridge 4 is bifurcated and formed into a gripping V as indicated at 11. At the diametrically opposite side of the post 7 from that occupied by the bifurcated edge of eccentric 8 the said eccentric is formed with an operating lever or handle 12 to facititate the initial gripping and the release of the cable by the eccentric. To effect release, the cable is slackened when the handle is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 2, whereby the bifurcated edge of the eccentric 8 is caused, during the angular movement of the eccentric, to move laterally away from the ridge 4. Obviously a converse movement of the eccentric 8 will cause lateral approach of the bifurcated edge of eccentric 8 toward the ridge and a resulting gripping of an interposed cable.

The plate 1 is preferably curved slightly edgewise, and at that edge designed to contact with the object engaged by the cable Specification of Letters Patent. P t nt d June 21, 1921 Application filed S eptember 14,1918. I Serial no. 254,093.

the plate is provided with gripping teeth 13, 13. The said teeth preferably extend for the full width of the marginal flange 2 as well as for the thickness of plate 1.

In operation, the eccentric 8 being in the open position, that is, the position assumed when the handle 12 is moved in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 2 to the cable releasing position, the free end portion of the cable is laced between the eccentric 8 and the grooved face of ridge 4, and the handle 12 is moved in the opposite direction to that indicated by the arrow in Fig. 2, until the cable is initially gripped. The cable is then passed about the object to be pulled, as, for example, a stump of a tree, and is brought back and passed through the bight of the hook 3. The transversely round ed form of the groove in the ridge 4 enables slipping of the cable along the ridge, but such slipping movement causes the cable to carry with it the bifurcated edge of the eccentric 8 which continues to approach the ridge 4 and thereby continues to increase the frictional engagement with the cable.

Hence, the greater the amount of longitudinal movement of the cable after it has once been gripped by the eccentric 8 the tighter will. be the grip of the eccentric on the cable and the greater will be the binding action between the edge of the eccentric and the grooved face of the ridge 4. Thus as soon as stress is put on the extended portion of the cable the eccentric effectively grips the engaged portion of cable and the continued strain .then causes the projections 13 to press into the material of the object being subjected to the pulling strain until all possibility of slipping of the cable take-up is insured against. After the pulling operation has been completed and it is desired to release the cable it is only necessary to remove the cable from the bight of hook 3 and allow it to slackcn at the point of engagement with the eccentric 8, and then to move the eccentric by swinging the lever 12 in the direction indicated by the arrow. Such movement releases the cable which may then be readily removed.

What I claim is 1. A cable take-up comprising a substantially flat elongated plate stiffened with ribs along its under face and at its upper face having a hook also stiffened by continuations of the ribs from the under face, the said. plate having a ridge spaced from the hook and outstanding from the same face of the plate as the hook, said ridge being formed with a cable receiving groove facing in the same direction and lying in substantially the same longitudinal planes of the plate as the biglit of the hook, and an eccentric clamp pivoted to the plate in position to cooperate with the groove in the ridge for clamping a cable therebetween.

2. A cable take-up comprising a plate having cable retaining means and a cable-receiving hook, the said plate being curved edgewise to conform substantially to the contour of the element to be engaged by the cable, and a gripping tooth extending from the edge of the plate at the curve.

3. A cable take-up comprising a plate having cable retaining means and a cable-rcceiving hook, the said plate being curved edgewise to conform substantially to the contour of the element to be engaged by the cable, and a series of gripping teeth extending from said plate along the curve.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

IVILLIAM C. F. ZIMMERMAN, JR.

WVitnesses S. S. TREHAINE, C. H. ATHERTON. 

